


A Warrior's Promise

by thatgmgirl



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, 進撃の巨人 | Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan (Movies)
Genre: Childhood Memories, F/M, Manga & Anime, Mental Health Issues, Romance, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 12:40:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29684106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatgmgirl/pseuds/thatgmgirl
Summary: Reiner Braun returns home after being away on a dire mission for nine years. On his return, he is reminded of a past promise he made to a girl he fell head over heels for when he was only twelve years old. How much has changed since he left and is she even alive after all this time? We follow Reiner on his pursue to find his childhood love and uncover the secrets of the Eldian people.
Relationships: Reiner Braun/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	A Warrior's Promise

Chapter 1 – Homecoming.

“Promise me you’ll return alive?”  
“Only if you promise me, you’ll marry me when I get back.”.

Men and women marched drably towards the fenced off city of Liberio in silence. Not a single cheer for their sacrifice in the war against the east from the people of Marley, only scorns for the devil blood that runs through their veins. The large black steel gates opened slowly, letting out a horrid screeching. Families from all around Liberio gathered in the bleak cobbled streets in hope they’ll be reunited with their loved ones. Mothers’ tears flooded the streets as they held their children for the first time in months, some for years. A tall slim figure towered over four children, the sun radiating through his golden hair as if he were a god. His chiselled face looked disheveled, his under eyes heavy and dark as though he had witnessed all too many deaths. The children ran off in different directions as they were reunited with their families. He looked down at his dust covered boots and sighed.  
“Reiner!” exclaimed a female voice. He shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked up and saw an older lady in a headscarf standing before him. “You must be tired, son. Come home and rest”. He froze for a second in disbelief as he saw his mother for the first time in nine years. It seemed as though she had never aged along with the town he once called home. Unlike him, he left a boy and came back a man but at what cost he thought.  
“Mother… I think I will” he said softly as he smiled with relief. He looked over into the sea of people and caught the gaze of a young blonde-haired woman clenching onto her necklace. Her emerald eyes widen as they interlock and filled with glistening tears. Before he could process what he had seen, she disappeared into the large crowd. “Christa…” he muttered under his breath. He didn’t get a good enough look at her, but her sun-bleached hair reminded him too much of Christa of Paradis. ‘There was no way someone would have followed me all this way from the Island’ he thought to himself.  
He paced the same streets he once knew as a child, being reminded of his melancholy times of playing games with his childhood friends. Nothing had changed in the nine years he had gone; everything looked the same as before from the red brickwork to the dusty street floors. Was there much point in his mission and was the other warriors’ sacrifice in vain? He continued walking down the narrow streets of Liberio until he reached his family home. As he opened the front door, he was welcomed by the rest of his extended family whom he was surprised to see. The house still looked the same with its eggshell blue walls and battered wooden beams with the smell of freshly baked bread lingering in the air. His cousin Gabi, one of the current warrior candidates, sat with her family cheerfully. It was as if there was never a war to begin with. The atmosphere felt inviting yet very cold to Reiner as though it was unfamiliar now that he had matured. He clenched onto his armband, looking longingly at it hoping he did enough to stop the devils of Paradis just a little longer. He hung his jacket by the door and took a deep breath; perhaps this would be the beginning of a little normality for Reiner Braun. As the night drew closer, the family gathered around their small kitchen table for a long overdue family meal.  
“BOOM! Just like I planned I blew the armoured train right off it’s track!” Gabi said smugly. The whole family praised Gabi ecstatically on her bravery.  
“It’s truly an honour to have such brave souls in our family. Reiner, do you reckon Gabi could be a warrior?” Karina, Reiner’s mother asked. Reiner looked up; elbows planted assertively on the tabletop.  
“Yeah. It’s almost a given she’ll inherit the Armoured Titan.” Everyone faces’ around the table shone, feeling so honoured to have such brave and noble family members such as Reiner and Gabi.  
“That’s my girl,” Gabi’s father cheered as he pulled her in for a hug “just be sure you pass that medical exam tomorrow.” Gabi’s face filled with rage as she pushed her father away in disgust. She tutted at him and frowned.  
“I’d be fine if it wasn’t for that Dr Von-Delter.” Hearing that name made Reiner freeze in his steps. His fork fell out of his hand and hit the floor. Suddenly a flood of memories came at him, drowning him. Everyone paused and stared at him with concern. His mother laughed lightly to herself, possibly the first time in a long time she had ever expressed such emotions.  
“Ah, now I bet that’s a name you haven’t heard in some time Reiner.” She chuckled. The elders of the family thoughts back fondly at the memories of young Reiner and laughed. Reiner blushed red with embarrassment.  
“Wait, are you telling me Reiner and Von-Delter have history?” Gabi exclaimed as her hands hit the table in astonishment. Reiner’s mind was trapped in a haze; spellbound at how he forgot someone so significant from his past. Reiner snapped back into reality to see his family staring back at him, awaited eagerly for his response. He picked his fork up off the floor and took a sip of his water to clear his throat.  
“Thank you for the meal, but I really must rest up.” Reiner picked himself up and walked away from the table then up the stairs, leaving his family clueless as to how he was feeling.  
At the end of the corridor resided his childhood bedroom. He entered slowly to find everything right where he left it before his departure. He perched himself on the edge of his tiny bed, head in hands. How could he forget her and the promise they once made to each other nine years ago? He tilted his head and stared at his old desk, untouched. His shaky hands hovered over the draws; scared to see what he will uncover. He slowly pulled the dusty draw open to find an old photograph of the warriors he trained with as a child. Annie, Bertholdt, Zeke, Porco, Marcel, Pieck but more importantly Emilia. She was sat next to him on the dirty training ground floor, all smiling away unknowing of what their futures would entail. A tear splashed onto the photograph as all the bittersweet memories came rushing back.  
“Bertholdt, Annie, Marcel… I’m so sorry.” He gripped tightly onto the photograph and held it close to his chest. Reiner felt an unprecedented sense of guilt, blaming himself for their demises.  
“I wont be at training anymore,” said a muffled voice, “They saw my marks on the last exam and reckon I’ll be better training as a medic”. Reiner opened his teary eyes and found himself back on the dusty streets of Liberio. In front of him was a young girl, hair as almost as white as snow and eyes as green as the leaves on the trees. Her fragile looking hands clenched onto her warrior armband, looking as though she was about to breakdown.  
“But what about your family?” said another muffled voice. Reiner looked to his left to see a taller boy with dark hair sat down beside him.  
“Bertholdt…” he muttered. He looked back at the girl who was wiping away her tears with her dirty sleeve.  
“My family will be fine; I’ll finally be able to provide for them and be of more use to the people of Marley.” She took Reiner’s hand and smiled through her pains. “you’ll have to train for the two of us from now on, Reiner.” Her hand was soft to the touch, a familiar feeling of warmth and safety swelled up inside of Reiner as he gripped on tighter.  
“Emilia…” Reiner mumbled. She started to loosen her grip on his hand as she walked away into the rays of the sun. Reiner reached his hand out further, trying his best to make the blissful moment last a little longer. “Wait!” he gasped. With his next blink, he woke up back in his moonlit bedroom, alone. Head in hands, he curled up into a ball on his bed before letting out another silent sob till his body gave in to sleep.  
The sunlight peered through the curtains, filling the bleak looking bedroom. In the bed laid Reiner, trembling in his sleep; his body dripping in sweat. A light murmur escaped his lips as he rocked himself back and forth.  
“No!” he exclaimed. His eyes darted open and his breathing got heavy. Gripping tightly on his bedsheets, he wiped his brow and caught his breath. This wasn’t the first time we had been rudely awakened from a night terror surrounding his time on Paradis Island. His limp body curled over the edge of his bed in an attempt to sit up. A light knocking came from the bedroom door.  
“Reiner, Gabi’s here to go to training.” His mother’s voice echoed through the crack of the door.  
“I’ll be down in a minute.” The light hit the beads of glistening sweat on his pale skin. Using his crisp white sheets, he wiped himself down before picking up his uniform. He draped his freshly pressed shirt over his chest, delicately buttoning it up. He brushed his hands down the front of his trousers, the knees well-wore from age. Down the stairs sat Gabi, patiently waiting for her cousin to arise. Her ears peaked up as she heard the heavy footsteps of Reiner getting closer. “You ready?” He said as he rushed over to grab his military jacket. His large muscular arms slipped into his sand-coloured trench-coat with ease. He took one look at Gabi and smirked. He knelt in front of her, practically the same height as her even on one knee. He pulled her yellow warrior armband and straightened it out. “Wear it with pride.” He stood back up and opened the front door, letting Gabi walk out first.  
The streets of Liberio were as busy than usually now that the war with the east had come to an end. People rushed around, frantically setting up their stalls for the daily market. Each person wore an armband, signifying their status as an Eldian. Grey showed others that you were an ordinary citizen, yellow meant you were either a solider or warrior candidate whilst red signified that you were an honouree Marleyans citizen. Reiner stood for a moment to take in this nostalgic environment. He straightened out his red armband before walking to the military headquarters. Gabi ran a few paces behind him, kicking at his heals.  
“You seem off, Gabi. What’s up?” Reiner huffed, looking in the corner of his eye to see Gabi racing beside him in the attempt to catch up. She grunted at him before scorning in his direction.  
“Aunt Karina is worried about you, you know? She said you’ve changed since you came back.” Reiner clenched his fist but quickly loosened up, hoping Gabi hadn’t noticed. He used every ounce of strength in his body not to show is true concerns of what really happened over the last nine years.  
“Her twelve-year-old son came back a full-grown man. I wouldn’t blame her for being so worried.” Gabi screwed up her face as she looked up at him and stopped in her tracks. Reiner stopped to look back at her to find her with a blank expression. “What could I possibly be hiding?” he assured. She shrugged her shoulders and let out another grunt before kicking up the dust on the floor.  
“We’re going to be late.” Gabi changed ahead, each footstep getting heavier as she approached the headquarters. As they approached, a young boy jumped up from a near by bench and ran after them.  
“Gabi! Mister Braun!” shouted the young boy. The two turned sharply to see a small blonde-haired boy chasing their tails.  
“Good morning, Falco.” Reiner smiled.  
Falco Grice was one of the warrior candidates alongside Gabi and the others. Reiner couldn’t help seeing himself in young Falco as they both shared the same fiery passion to serve as well as loyal companionship he had when he was at that age. He watched as the two children ran off to training but couldn’t help but projected the image of himself with Emilia when they were the same age. He followed them across the lavish courtyard before entering the main building.  
“Falco!” shouted an unfamiliar voice from across the courtyard “Don’t forget your medical exam again today.” Suddenly Reiner’s body couldn’t move. Sharp tingles shot throughout his body. The voice struck a nerve like nothing had before.  
“Emilia?”


End file.
